CAMDEN / Ark // JUN / 9 with matching PAID 10 (CSA Catalog Type B with CV $500), beautiful clear bold strikes on cover to Mrs. May Shober Care of F. E. Shober, Salisbury, North Carolina with ms. directive at top “Post Master will please forward.” Ex Gallagher and Clippert. $550.

Francis Edwin Shober (1831-1896) was a lawyer and congressman. He opposed secession. In 1862 he won a seat in the House of Commons as a Conservative, his first political office. He was reelected in 1864. Shober was a trustee of the University of North Carolina from 1862 until the Republicans took over the state in 1868. Shober engaged in manufacturing after the Civil War. Along with G. A. Bingham, he established one of the largest mercantile firms in Rowan County—Bingham and Company—which made boots, shoes, caps, and wood and willow ware.